Stephanie Selznick, Dorchester, MA

“A good class is fully engaged, they want to do the experiments,
the questions, the answers. They’re into it. You can see it on
their faces, the discovery and the excitement. And you know that they’re
learning, because if you ask them a question, they just go on and on
and on. And it makes the class go by fast, and I’m like, wait
a minute, stay longer…”

School at a Glance:
Oliver Wendell Holmes Elementary School
Dorchester, MA

Enrollment: 242

Ethnicity:
81% African American
13% Hispanic
4% White, Asian

Percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch: 83% versus
a state average of 29%

Stephanie Selznick is a science specialist at the Oliver Wendell Holmes
Elementary School in Dorchester, MA, an area of Boston located southwest
of the city proper.

The school is part of the Boston Public School system, which is one
of the largest in the country. The school serves a minority population–about
81% of the students are black, 13% Hispanic, while the rest are divided
between white and Asian students. In total, 250 students are enrolled
at the school and, as a science specialist for her school, Stephanie
sees each of them once a week.